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New Device Gets a Grip on Stroke Treatment

Tuesday - 6/15/2010, 7:16pm EDT

Researchers with the National Science Foundation have developed a new tool for efficiently removing blood clots in the brain, the leading cause of strokes. The tool overcomes limitations in current emergency stroke treatments, potentially extending the time for a victim to get help.

Engineered with support from the Foundation's Small Business Innovation Research program, Insera Therapeutics of California, developed the Stroke Help using an Transcatheter Retrieval device.

It contains two primary components; an outer sheath for containing captured clots and an inner filament that houses the collapsible, five-millimeter-diameter, nickel-titanium mesh that grabs and filters the clots. The technology can be custom-fit for patients.

Researchers say, such strokes are the leading cause of long-term disability in the U.S.